"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live." -Marcus Aurelius

I thought about death a lot this past weekend.

Why?

Because during the Hyrox World competition I constantly reminded myself of how grateful I am to have two legs, two arms, a beating heart, and breathing lungs to do so. In the moments where I wanted to give up, where I thought I was going to vomit all over the course, in the glimpses of time where I thought I might legitimately faint... I remembered my WHY. I remembered that the pain I was enduring was me LIVING. It was my body responding to what it was put on this earth to do.

My body...

It was not put here to sit around and stare at screens.

It was not put here to "work" and please the needs of others all damn day.

It was not put here to be scared, anxious, and crippled by my own internal thoughts and insecurities.

It was put here to become the best man I can be... physically, mentally, and spiritually.

And this past weekend, I put all three of those categories of myself up to the test.

I am extremely happy to tell you that I passed the test this time.

Yet, if you know me, I don't just like "passing" tests. I want to ace them!!!

Last year I ran the course in 1:43 (1 hour and 43 minutes) and was completely destroyed after. I literally couldn't walk I was cramping so bad.

This year I ran the course in 1:27 without any cramps. #SUCCESS

Also, I was fasted the entire time (I didn't eat anything before the race). I did this to put myself through a mental test. I wanted to try and break myself. I wanted to get in the mind of those who are starving in the desert, while also running for their lives...all so I could appreciate the life I have even more.

So yesterday, just 24 hours after the race, and after driving 3 hours back to Austin...I went right back to the gym. There are 40 days between now and the next time I get back into the arena. And this next time, I want to ace the test.

What does that look like?

Essentially shaving 10-15 minutes off of my 1:27 time. My goal next time around is to not stop or walk at all. I did plenty of that this past weekend to catch my breath and drink some water. Next time around though, I will be ready to bypass all that.

This email may seem like it was about me, but the reality is, I want YOU to think about the arena YOU are you going to step into?!?

I want you to get busy LIVING!!!

-quote from last year's episode 40 of the ThriveOnLife Podcast

Photo of me in the arena thanks to my good friend Joe Lindley

If you'd like to see more of what the weekend looked like, check out this short video collage my wife Erin put together for me.

Respond back to this with the arena you plan to enter, or are already in. Lets battle, lets compete, lets LIVE....TOGETHER.

#thriveon

CJ

p.s. I am so grateful for Erin Finley, Chelsea Mansfield, and Joe Lindley for giving 1.5 hours of massive energy to cheer Noah Huisman and I on. Your support was felt with every grueling lap. I cannot wait to return the favor and do do the same for you all in the future.